Chapter 410

Humans are truly a highly adaptable race.

When Zhou Yun first transmigrated to the Hive World, he thought he would cry like a Grot who had just had its toe stepped on.

But the truth was that he adapted to life in the Hive World very quickly.

Perhaps there is truth to the Imperial Truth saying that humanity has the manifest destiny to rule the galaxy; no matter how harsh the environment of a planet, humans can adapt, shaping different worlds and being shaped by them in turn.

Sometimes Zhou Yun would even miss the narrow, enclosed Hive World without a sky; those crowded streets really gave one a strange sense of security, much like young children who always like to hide in narrow, dim closets.

This included the people he knew in the Hive World, whom Zhou Yun also often missed.

Now, old Lage's soul had returned to the Golden Wang Zuo, Old One-Eye was responsible for selecting suitable Ashford refugees to join the Cadian 184th Regiment on Baal, and Leina was training those unqualified Astral Militarum soldiers on Terra to run laps around the equator.

Oh, and those two Nurgle's Garden mutts; they were currently hanging out with the Nurglings in Nurgle's Garden, and Zhou Yun didn't miss them much.

Aside from them, there was Jeanne; although he hadn't known her for long, Zhou Yun quite liked that child.

In reality, he was very fond of well-behaved and sensible children; perhaps his essence really was that of a childcare robot, who knows.

Ever since arriving on Terra and hearing that there was a Saintly Maiden among the Battle Sisters, Zhou Yun had suspected that the Saintly Maiden was Jeanne.

She was a good child; back on Ashford, she had almost been burned to death by the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang, and had been in a state of sleep ever since.

At the time, Sanguinius believed Jeanne would be fine, and when the Tyranid swarm invaded, Zhou Yun had entrusted her to the Battle Sisters; he didn't know how she was doing now.

"My lord, this is the place." Mo Wen. Wa stopped at the entrance of a small monastery and bowed to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun noticed that at the entrance of the small monastery stood two Battle Sisters clad in Exemplar Armor.

This type of massive power armor was a holy relic in its own right; the machine spirit within was wild and difficult to tame, and the burden brought by the armor itself was immense—only the Battle Sisters with the most resilient wills could pilot them.

Along the way here, Zhou Yun had discovered that many Battle Sisters were hidden in the shadows, guarding the surroundings.

This small monastery was also hidden in the deepest part of the Battle Sisters' Prime Monastery.

"We have encountered assassinations, attacks, and espionage from unknown sources."

Mo Wen. Wa explained sincerely:

"Many people do not wish for the Saintly Maiden to exist, many are curious about the Saintly Maiden's identity, and even within the Battle Sisters, there are some sisters who cannot understand the holiness of the Saintly Maiden."

Zhou Yun nodded to show he understood.

The Ecclesiarchy was bound to be dissatisfied with the Battle Sisters acting on their own; the so-called Saintly Maiden had not been recognized by the Ecclesiarchy, and the faith in Saint Doraemon also made the Ecclesiarchy feel like they had thorns in their backs—the Ecclesiarchy certainly did not want the Saintly Maiden to exist.

Furthermore, just as Guilliman had judged before, Terra had long been infiltrated; many bureaucrats might well be Alpha Legion or Tzeentch cultists, and they were capable of anything.

As for espionage, there was even more of that; even Tiruien had dispatched spies to probe the situation of the so-called Saintly Maiden.

The existence of these attacks was perhaps one of the reasons why Zhou Yun was visiting the Saintly Maiden, rather than the Saintly Maiden visiting Zhou Yun.

After all, the Saintly Maiden might be attacked, but there was no one foolish enough to attack Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun always kept Nobita by his side, and Nobita's great power was crystal clear to anyone who knew about the war before the Lion's Gate.

Another reason Zhou Yun was visiting here was...

"My lord, the Saintly Maiden's times of sleep and wakefulness are completely random; I will go and ask if she is awake first."

Mo Wen. Wa said with a hint of apology:

"I have prepared dorayaki in the foyer of this small monastery; if the Saintly Maiden is still asleep, you could—"

"There is no need for that; I will just go in and take a look, and you can just send the dorayaki in as well." Zhou Yun waved his hand and said.

Although he had just lamented that humans were very adaptable, Zhou Yun truly could not adapt to those tedious and complex rituals and social occasions on Terra.

Seeing Zhou Yun say this, Mo Wen. Wa naturally bowed respectfully and opened the gates of the small monastery for Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun controlled Nobita to follow by his side and walked slowly into the monastery, while Mo Wen. Wa stood guard at the gate.

This small monastery was simple and elegant, built entirely of gray stone; the walls were carved with a large number of flowers and vines, and between these patterns were Battle Sisters kneeling in unison.

But on the carvings, the face of the person the sisters were kneeling to had been smashed with a hammer, and many words full of curses had been carved onto his body.

On the way, Zhou Yun had heard Mo Wen. Wa talk about the history of this small monastery; it was originally the first church built by the Battle Sisters on Terra, dedicated to the then-Ecclesiarch of the Terran Ecclesiarchy, Vandire.

Vandire could be considered the most abstract of all the High Lords of Terra in history; through a series of political struggles and murders, he simultaneously held the positions of both Director of the Neiwu Force and Ecclesiarch, even controlling the Astropathic Choir, the Assassinorum, and the Astral Militarum for a time, becoming a de facto dictator.

In order to cultivate a force that was independently loyal to him, Vandire used shield generators to disguise them as the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's miracles, deceiving the Battle Sisters who at the time still called themselves the "Daughters of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang," and turned the "Daughters of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang" into the "Brides of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang," using them as his own private armed force.

But when Vandire was conducting his abstract rule, he clearly forgot that there were mountains of arrays three feet above the heads of those on Terra.

The Imperial Fists, unable to bear it any longer, directly launched a purge of the court against Vandire, leading the Black Templars, the Soul Drinkers, and the Fire Hawks to besiege the Terran Ecclesiarchy Palace.

But at the time, the "Brides of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang" had expanded to over ten thousand people, and the Ecclesiarchy Palace itself was impregnable; the Astartes could not launch an orbital bombardment on the Imperial Palace of Terra.

The final result was that the Custodes stepped forward, leading the leaders of the "Brides of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang" into the Wang Zuo Room, where they faced the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang, and they finally realized that Vandire had deceived them.

In the end, the Battle Sisters killed Vandire with their own hands, leaving Vandire to utter his famous last words: "I am too busy to die."

After that, all buildings, records, and carvings related to Vandire were destroyed by the Battle Sisters.

Only this small church in the deepest part of the Battle Sisters' Prime Monastery remained, used to forever remember that shame and to curse Vandire's soul.

The existence of this small church was a secret among the Battle Sisters, and it was located at the core of the Battle Sisters' headquarters, providing excellent concealment and security.

Thus, the Battle Sisters had placed the Saintly Maiden within it.

"The Battle Sisters are the Brides of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang, so does that make Vandire a cuckold to the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang?" Zhou Yun couldn't help but mutter.

If Mo Wen. Wa were still standing by Zhou Yun's side, she would likely be terrified and cry out "blasphemy."

However, there was no one else by Zhou Yun's side, only Nobita, whom he was controlling and who was equivalent to his avatar.

Zhou Yun's gaze turned to the end of the small church, where a young girl was kneeling piously before the statue of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang.

Judging by her back, the girl was not very old, at most in her early teens; she was draped in a gorgeous silver-white robe, with lily patterns symbolizing purity woven in gold thread on the robe, in addition to other holy patterns such as roses, flames, and the Aquila, looking both complex and exquisite.

But after Zhou Yun walked a few steps closer, he discovered something that wasn't quite right.

The girl's skin was certainly not like that of an Imperial noble living in luxury; there was a clear roughness and yellowness on her skin left by the Hive World environment.

But she did not have the faint burn marks on Jeanne's body, which were the traces left by the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's psychic power being poured into Jeanne's body.

A mortal's flesh could not withstand the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's psychic power; even a tiny bit would cause irreparable damage.

The girl before him was clearly not Jeanne, which made Zhou Yun pause for a moment.

Life is the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's currency, and the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang is a beast.

But when it comes to the use of currency, especially the more precious ones, the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang would not waste it.

Especially a vessel capable of bearing the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's power—it could definitely be called a rare item; it was unlikely the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang would switch to another before finishing with one.

That was why Zhou Yun had always suspected that the Saintly Maiden was Jeanne.

But now, did the damn Hua Hua Hua Di Huang burn Jeanne?!

Just at this moment, the girl kneeling before the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's statue slightly raised her head; she seemed to have heard Zhou Yun's footsteps.

The girl hurriedly stood up, turned her head, and performed a clumsy Aquila sign toward Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun looked at her face.

Although they were about the same age, she was definitely not Jeanne.

However, her face did indeed look like the common appearance of people in the Ashford Hive World, and Zhou Yun found it a bit familiar.

"Lord Lion El'Jonson." The girl said with nervousness and awe, bowing her head.

Zhou Yun paused for a moment; only Ashford people would use this name he had made up to address him.

Then Zhou Yun vaguely found this girl's face in his memory.

It was on the eve of the Tyranid Hive Fleet's arrival at Ashford; he had met this girl on the street.

At the time, this girl was setting up a stall on the street to tell fortunes with the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's Tarot, but because the two cards she drew every time were the same, she didn't have much business.

Zhou Yun had taken care of her business out of kindness at the time... oh, the two cards drawn at the time seemed to be "The Shattered World" and "The Steppe Rider."

At the time, Zhou Yun thought "The Shattered World" portended the arrival of a great crisis, and "The Steppe Rider" portended that salvation was coming.

But considering that Zhou Yun later really met Jaghatai Khan in the Webway... the accuracy of this girl's divination was a bit ridiculously high.

Now she looked no different from when she was at Ashford, just not as withered as before, and there was a little bit of fat under her skin.

"You are the Saintly Maiden?" Zhou Yun frowned. She did have a certain amount of psychic power, but the Saintly Maiden was surely...

"No, no, no, my lord." The girl waved her hands in a panic: "I am Ye Ruite, I am just Jeanne's double."

Jeanne's double?

No wonder... this girl happened to be from Ashford, her accent, build, and age were similar to Jeanne's, and she could also perform certain divinations through the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's Tarot; she was indeed a good double.

But... "This is a dangerous job." Zhou Yun said to Ye Ruite, who was acting as Jeanne's double.

"It's okay! The sisters protect us very well; except for that time with Lady Mo Wen. Wa, no one has ever entered this small monastery."

Ye Ruite said sincerely, her voice carrying a dryness and hoarseness, clearly a sequela left by long-term residence in the Hive World:

"Although Lady Mo Wen. Wa broke into the monastery that time, she quickly understood the holiness of the Saintly Maiden after seeing her."

"And we can always eat our fill here."

It wasn't necessarily that they couldn't get in; perhaps they had gotten in but no one had discovered them, Zhou Yun thought secretly.

After all, there were many things and existences on Terra that the Battle Sisters could not handle.

But saying these things to this child was useless and would only cause her fear.

So Zhou Yun just nodded slightly: "If there is danger, remember to pray to me."

When he was in Macragge, he had already been able to hear prayers to him within a certain range.

As long as the prayer was strong enough in emotion, it could reach his ears.

"Remember to include your name and address." Zhou Yun thought for a moment and warned.

Only then could Zhou Yun know who was praying and respond in time using the Anywhere Door.

Ye Ruite bowed with gratitude.

"How is Jeanne?" Zhou Yun asked.

"Lady Jeanne has been in a sleep all day today and hasn't woken up yet." Ye Ruite said truthfully.

"It's okay, just take me over there."

(End of chapter)